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CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 



BEFORE THE 




OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

On SStli -A-TJCrTTST, 1SS3, 

BY 

V/ILMOT G. DeSAUSSURE, 

President. 



CHARLESTON, S. C. 

WALKER, EVANS & COGSWELL. PRINTERS 

Nos. 3 Broad and 109 East Bay Streets. 

1883. 



CENTENISIAL ADDRESS 



BEFORE THE 




OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

Ojn. SStlj. .^■Cr3--Cr3T, 1333, 

BY . ■ 

WILMOT G; DeSAUSSURE, 

President. 



CHAELESTON, S. C. 

WALKER, EVANS & COGSWELL, PRINTERS. 

Nos. 3 Broad and 109 East Bay Streets. 



ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the State Society 

OF THE Cincinnati of South Carolina : 

You have been invited to assemble this evening to com- 
memorate an interesting anniversary. On 29th August. 
1783, at the first meeting held in Charleston, the State So- 
ciety of the Cincinnati of South Carolina was organized, and 
its officers elected. We are met on this, the first centennial 
of the organization, to do reverence to the memories of those 
patriots, who, through disheartening trials, and severe pri- 
vations, steadfastly adhered to the principles of liberty which 
led them into opposition to, and war with, one of the most 
jDowerful, if not the then most poAverful, nation of the civi- 
lized world ; whose courage and constancy through all such 
trials and privations, and whose stern refusal to listen to the 
blandishing invitations to return to British allegiance and 
favor, resulted in, and gave, independence to the United 
Colonies, making them free and independent States. 

The citizens of the United States, who enjoy the liberties 
won by their clear perception of the rights of the people, 
and live under a free government by the people for the peo- 
ple, owe a reverent debt of gratitude to the memory of such 
patriots. We, the members of the Cincinnati Society, a So- 
ciety " instituted by the officers of the American army, at the 
period of its dissolution, as well to commemorate the great 
event which gave independence to North America, as for 
the laudable purpose of inculcating the duty of laying down 
in peace arms assumed for public defence, and of uniting in 
acts of brotherly afioction, and bonds of perpetual friend- 
ship the members constituting the same," peculiarly, per- 



form but a pious duty, when we assemble to do reverence 
to their memories. The centennial of the institution in 
South Carolina, makes this a fitting time, when we, the 
members of the South Carolina Society, should express our 
gratitude to, and reverence for, those brave and conscien- 
tious men. In the lengthening vista of time, in the grow- 
ing consciousness of mankind as to the true principles of 
government, year by year, will grow more luminous the 
wisdom of those who perceived that to the governed be- 
longed, as unalienable rights with which they are endowed 
by the Creator, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; 
" that to secure these rights, governments are instituted 
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of 
the governed ; that, when any form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter 
or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying 
its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers 
in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect 
their safety and happiness." And as in such growing con- 
sciousness, such wisdom becomes more luminous, the greater 
and greater will become the reverence for, and gratitude to, 
the men who perceived these true principles of government, 
and perceiving, had the courage to battle for their mainte- 
nance, mutually pledging to each other therefor, their lives, 
their fortunes, and their sacred honors. 

It is not now necessary to consider the causes which led 
to the opposition by the colonies ; suffice it to say, the 
motives were high and patriotic. Pacific remonstrances 
were answered by defiance, and followed by more arbitrary 
exactions. The seizure of the stamps, the destruction of the 
teas, the resolutions to consume home products, were re- 
garded as acts of rebellion, to be crushed out by military 
force. Boston was heavily garrisoned, and coercive, mili- 
tary aggression was threatened. Delegates from the colonies 
were assembled in Congress to deliberate upon the proper 
course to be pursued. The delegates, and the people of the 
colonies, yet hoped for a redress of their grievances, and 
scarcely contemplated separation from, and independence of, 



the mother country. Even so late as 26th March, 1776, the 
colonial Congress of South Carolina, in the temporary con- 
stitution then adopted, declared it a temporary act " until 
the accommodation of the unhappy differences between 
Great Britain and America can be obtained (an event which, 
though traduced and treated as rebels, we still earnestly de- 
sire)." But while so gathered in deliberation, the com- 
manding officer in Boston, carrying out the coercive military 
policy of his government, saw fit to send Lieut.-Colonel 
Smith and Major Pitcairn, with their troops, to seize the 
military stores gathered by the authorities of the colony 
of Massachusetts for the public defence. In the gray dawn 
of that memorable 19th April, 1775, when Major Pitcairn, 
upon the commons at Lexington, Massachusetts, ordered the 
company of minute men, barely about sixty in number, to 
disperse, and not being obeyed, fired upon this little handful 
of militia, killing Ensign Robert Munroe, and Privates Jonas 
Parker, Isaac Muzze}^, Jonathan Harrington, Samuel Hadley, 
John Brown, Caleb Harrington, and Asahel Porter, he in- 
augurated for his government a contest for a principle which 
will never cease until the axioms for government promulged 
in the Declaration of Independence on 4th July, 1776, shall 
become the acknowledged, recognized ones which must pre- 
vail between the governments and the people of the world. 
And the blood shed by those brave men in that early morn- 
ing, was the first in which was laid the cement for the 
mutual friendship, to perpetuate the remembrance of which, 
and of the great event to which it led, the Society of the 
Cincinnati was instituted. To these protomartyrs to the 
great principles of political liberty and equality we, not 
only as citizens of the North American Republic, but as 
lovers of our kind, owe so reverent a debt of gratitude that 
we would be recreant ingrates did we not at a fitting time 
express it. And we, as members of the Society instituted 
to perpetuate, not only the remembrance of the great event, 
but to preserve the memories of the friendsliips formed by 
our ancestors under the pressure of a common danger, and , 
in many instances, cemented by their blood, would be un- 



true to the promises made to our forefathers, did we not, at 
such time as this, perform the pious duty of recalling the 
names and deeds of those gallant patriots. Gentlemen of 
the State Society of the Cincinnati of South CaroHna, I in- 
vite you to rise, and with me to bow in grateful, reverent 
homage to the memories of the protomartyrs in the cause of 
American Independence, Ensign Robert Munroe, and Pri- 
vates Jonas Parker, Isaac Muzzey, Jonathan Harrington, 
Samuel Hadley, John Brown, Caleb Harrington, and Asahel 
Porter. 

Prior to this momentous event, the defence of American 
liberties had been conducted by the several colonies. Each 
had raised and equipped its own troops, and directed such 
movements as seem best calculated to further the purposes 
for which such forces had been enrolled. Lexington was 
quickly followed by the beleaguerment of Boston, and it 
became so manifest that a war of magnitude had been en- 
tered upon, that the Continental Congress, on 15th June, 
1775, 7 Resolved, That a general be appointed to command 
all the Continental forces raised, or to be raised, for the de- 
fence of American liberty. The Congress then proceeded 
to the choice of a general, by ballot, and George Washing- 
ton, Esq., was unanimously elected." Gentlemen, you need 
no invitation to rise at this great name ; instinctively, you 
will do so, expressing in your hearts and countenances the 
inexpressible gratitude to, and reverence for, that pure 
patriot, that able commander, that wise counsellor, that 
modest gentleman, to whom. Primus inter pares, it has been 
accorded by the American people, that he should be called 
" First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his coun- 
trymen." 

This appointment may be said to have been the inception 
of the army on the Continental establishment. Lossing, in 
the Field Book of the Revolution, says : " The subject of the 
appointment had been informally discussed two or three 
days before, and John Adams had proposed the adoption of 
the Provincial troops at Boston as a Continental Army." 
Gen. Washington formally took command of the forces 



around Boston on 3d July, 1775, and on 4th July, 1775, 
issued an order, a part of which is as follows : " The Conti- 
nental Congress having now taken all the troops of the 
several colonies which have been raised, or which may be 
hereafter raised, for the support and defence of the liberties 
of America, into their pay and service, they are now the 
troops of the United Provinces of North America ; and it is 
hoped that all distinction of colonies will be laid aside, so 
that one and the same spirit may animate the whole, and 
the only contest be, who shall render, on this great and try- 
ing occasion, the most essential service to the great and 
common cause in which we are all engaged." I have not 
had access to any proceedings of the Continental Congress, 
and am unable to give the act, ordinance or resolution under 
which the colonial troops were taken into the Continental 
service. Nor have I been able to find the numbers of the 
regiments, the commanders, or officers. It seems to me, that 
the Society of the Cincinnati owe it to one of the purposes 
of its institution, the perpetuation of the remembrance of 
that vast event, to endeavor to collect the regimental and 
other organizations which formed the Continental Army, 
with the names of as many of the officers attached to each, 
as is practicable, and to publish these in some form which 
will be permanent, and easy of access. We of this day are 
largely ignorant upon this subject, and know not even where 
to seek the information. A¥ere it possible, it would be desi- 
rable to obtain a record of every man who composed that 
army. The private soldiers who bore the brunt of the war, 
whose bleeding feet stained the snows of the winter quarters 
at Valley Forge, and returned, unpaid, to desolated homes, 
and cheerfully resumed the plough and other agricultural 
implements laid down in order to take up the musket and 
the sword in the public defence, are as much entitled to our 
admiration and veneration, as the officer by whom they 
were led. This is impracticable, and the Cincinnati should 
endeavor to do as much as it can, by collecting and preserv- 
inp- the orpanizations and names of officers. 

By the provisional articles between the United States and 



his Britannic Majesty, signed at Paris, on 30th November, 
1782, " his Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United 
States, viz : New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, 
sovereign and independent States ; that he treats with them 
as such." This terminated the long war of the Revolutron. 
The army was not disbanded until a later period, but prac- 
tically, the war was ended. 

Savannah was evacuated by the British on 11th July, 
1782 ; Charleston was evacuated on 14th December, 1782 ; 
NeAV York was not evacuated until 25th November, 1783. 
A general treaty w^as signed at Paris on 20th January, 1783, 
and on 17th April, 1783, the Continental Congress issued a 
proclamation of a cessation of hostilities by sea and land. 
But so long as any part of the United States was occupied 
by British troops, the Continental army could not be dis- 
banded, but under Washington's advice, Congress passed a 
resolution granting him leave to issue such furloughs as he 
thought proper. Acting under this resolution, he did grant 
many, enabling the troo})s to return home and prepare for 
the duties of civil life, but retaining a sufficient number in 
cantonment to meet any emergency which might arise. It 
was while things were in this condition, that the Society of 
the Cincinnati was instituted. In his Life of Washington, 
Irving says : " The officers in the patriot camp ©n the Hud- 
son were not without gloomy feelings at the thought of their 
approaching separation from each other. Eight years of 
dangers and hardships, shared in common and nobly sus- 
tained, had welded their hearts together, and made it hard 
to rend them asunder. Prompted by such feelings. General 
Knox, ever noted for generous impulses, suggested, as a 
mode of perpetuating the friendships thus formed, and keep- 
ing alive the brotherhood of the camp, the formation of a 
society composed of the officers of the army. The sugges- 
tion met with universal concurrence, and the hearty appro- 
bation of Washington. Meetings were held, at which Baron 



Steuben, as senior officer, presided. A plan was drafted by 
a committee composed of Generals Knox, Hand, and Hunt- 
ingdon, and Captain Shaw ; (Captain Shaw is reputed to 
have drawn the plan), and the Society was organized at a 
meeting held on the 13th of May, at the Baron's quarters in 
the old Verplanck House, near Fishkill. By its formula, 
the officers of the American army in the most solemn man- 
ner combined themselves into one Society of friends ; to en- 
dure so long as they should endure, or any of their eldest 
male posterity, and in failure thereof, the collateral branch- 
es who might be judged worthy of becoming its supporters 
and members. In memory of the illustrious Roman, Lucius 
Quintius Cincinnatus, who retired from war to the peace- 
ful duties of the citizen, it w^as to be called ' The Society of 
the Cincinnati.' The objects proposed by it were to pre- 
serve inviolate the rights and liberties for which they had 
contended ; to promote and cherish national honor and 
union between the States ; to maintain brotherly kindness 
toward each other, and extend relief to such officers and 
their families as might stand in need of it. * * Individuals 
of the respective States, distinguished for patriotism and 
talents, might be admitted as honorary members for life; 
their numbers never to exceed a ratio of one to four. * * 
Washington was unanimously chosen to officiate as Presi- 
dent of it, until the first general meeting, to be held in May, 
1784." 

It was under such circumstances, and for such purely 
patriotic and friendly purposes, that in the Cantonment on 
the Hudson, on the 10th of May, 1783, the Society of Cin- 
cinnati was proposed ; on the 13th of May, 1783, was insti- 
tuted by a declaration of the objects of its institution ; and 
on the 19th of June, 1783, organized, by, " Resolved, 
That his Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, be requested 
to officiate, as President-General, until the first general meet- 
ing, to be held in May next," by the election of a Treasurer- 
General and a Secretary-General, and the adoption of the 
badge, or order, called for in the institution. 

The country having just emerged from a long and ex- 



10 

haustive war, one object of which had been the estabhsh- 
ment of repubHcan equality as contra-distinguished from 
any privileged class or order, the institution of a society,, 
admission to which was confined to a comparatively small 
number, and made hereditary, and the adoption of a dis- 
tinguishing badge, or order, naturally gave rise to appre- 
hension. The Society of the Cincinnati was violently as- 
sailed, and denounced as being dangerous to the young re- 
publican liberty. Inflammatory pamphlets were written in 
one part of the country ; in another, ridicule was sought 
to be thrown on the society ; in another, sturdy patriots,, 
whose names were and still are dear to the American citizens, 
sought, by what they deemed valid reasoning, to show how 
the republican equality of the citizens might be endangered. 
I do not mean to say that those who thus assailed and de- 
nounced the Cincinnati, were influenced by the cause pres- 
ently to be mentioned, but I do mean to say, that the men 
who most determinedly opposed it, were men, who, accord- 
ing to the institution, were not entitled to membership. 

Writing of the Cincinnati, McMaster, in his History of 
the People of the United States, says : " The verdict of pos- 
terity has long since acquitted the founders of the Cincin- 
nati of any evil designs against the life of the State. But it 
would have been a hard task to have brought to this mind 
the men, who, in 1783, heard with mingled feelings of alarm 
and disgust, that a military order had been established, that 
its honors had been made hereditary, that Frenchmen had 
been admitted to its ranks, that a petition had been laid at 
the foot of the throne, had been graciously received, and 
that the Eagle and the blue ribbon of the Cincinnati were 
daily to be seen in the proudest of courts, wdiere no subject 
had ever before been permitted to wear the decorations of a 
foreign State. Scarcely a larger share of public attention is 
now enjoyed by the society than is bestowed on the many 
social and literary clubs which from time to time hold re- 
ceptions and give dinners to guests from over the sea." 

So great had been the popular clamor in regard to the 
society, that at the first general meeting, held at Philadel- 



1! 

phia, on Tuesday, 4th of May, 1784, " The President then 
arose ; expressed the opposition of the State of Virginia and 
other States ; observed that it had become violent and formi- 
dable, and called for serious consideration ; desired the mem- 
bers of the several States to declare the ideas which pre- 
vailed in their countries with regard to our institution, and 
the various manners which the}^ had pursued to obtain this 
knowledge." 

The delegates to the States Societies who were present 
successively stated the opinions of the people of their several 
States. In every one of the States, except New York and 
Georgia, the feeling against the Society was announced as 
decided. 

" The President General arose and acknowledged the in- 
formation from all the States ; endeavored to prove the 
disagreeable consequences which would result to the mem- 
bers of the Cincinnati from preserving the institution in its 
present form ; illustrated the force and strength of the oppo- 
sition to it in a variety of examples, supported by his own 
knowledge, and information from confidential friends : pro- 
posed, as the most exceptionable parts, and that require 
alteration in their very essence, the following, viz : the he- 
reditary part, — interference with politics, — honorary mem- 
bers, — increase of funds from donations, — and the damage 
which would be the result to community from the influence 
they would give us ; declared that, was it not for the con- 
nection we stood in with the very distinguished foreigners 
in this institution, he ivould propose to the Society to make one 
great sacrifice more to the world, and abolish the order altogether, 
the charitable part excepted ; that, considering the connec- 
tion which we stood in with France, the particular situation 
in which our Society had placed some of their officers, he 
was willing, provided we could fall on a middle way, that 
would neither lead us to the displeasing of them, or en- 
couraging the jealousies and suspicions of our countrymen, 
to adopt it. But he doubted if this was possible ; and if it 
should so appear on a full investigation, he was determined 
at all events to withdraw his name from amongst us. 



12 

From the journals of that meeting, it would appear that 
the General Society adopted, and proposed for adoption by 
the State Societies, such modifications as would remove the 
objections which had been made. It would also appear that 
the proposed modifications were never adopted by the State 
Societies. . Meanwhile, the clamor against the Cincinnati 
abated ; it became evident that, so far from endangering the 
public liberties, it served rather to keep alive the memories 
of the principles for which the war of the Revolution was 
fought. And it became recognized, and is now recognized, 
as a purely patriotic, historical institution, whose aim is to 
perpetuate the remembrance of the great event which gave 
liberty to the American States; to keep alive the friendships 
formed by our forefathers under the pressure of a common 
danger, and, in many instances, cemented by their blood ; 
and a determination to promote and cherish between the 
respective States, '' that union and national honor so essen- 
tially necessary to their happiness and the future dignity of 
the American Empire." 

Who that remembers that touching scene in New York, 
on Thursday, 4th December, 1783, wdiere "the principal 
officers of the army, yet remaining in service, assembled at 
Faunce's, to take a final leave of their beloved chief. * =^ * 
Washington entered the room where they were all waiting, 
and taking a glass of wine in his hand, he said, " With a 
heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I 
most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as pros- 
perous and happy as your former ones have been glorious 
and honorable." Having drunk, he continued, " I cannot 
come to each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged 
to you if each will come and take me by the hand." Knox, 
who stood nearest to him, turned and grasped his hand, and 
while the tears flowed down the cheeks of each, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief kissed him. This he did to each of his 
officers, while tears and sobs stifled utterance. Washington 
soon left the room, and passing through corps of Light In- 
fantry, he walked in silence to Whitehall, followed by a vast 
procession, and at two o'clock entered a barge to proceed to 



18 

Paulas' Hook on his way to lay his commission at the feet 
of Congress at Annapolis. When he entered his barge, he 
turned to the people, took off his hat, and waved a silent 
adieu to the tearful multitude ;" who, it is repeated, that 
remembers this parting, can doubt with what strong attach- 
ment Washington regarded the Society of the Cincinnati ? 
Who that has read Washington's letter to Barton, in 1788, 
in which he says : "I make these observations with the 
greater freedom, because I have once been a witness to what 
I conceived to have been a most unreasonable prejudice 
against an innocent institution — I mean the Society of the 
Cincinnati. I was conscious that my own proceedings on 
the subject were immaculate. I was also convinced that the 
members, actuated by motives of sensibility, charity and 
patriotism, were doing a laudable thing in erecting that 
memorial of their common services, sufferings, and friend- 
ships," can doubt the purity of feeling wdth which he be- 
came associated with the Cincinnati? Assured, then, of his 
attachment to the Institution, and the purity of feeling 
whicTi induced his association with it, how grand and patri- 
otic was his declaration, that if the popular apprehension 
could not be allayed, " he would propose to the Society to 
make one great sacrifice more to the world, and abolish the 
order altogether." 

Upon this centennial of the organization of the State So- 
ciety of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, it w^ould be in- 
teresting to trace the history of the General Society, and of 
the several State Sooieties, during the century ; bat it would 
weary you were it attempted at this our i3ocial gathering, 
even if I had the ability to do so. An abler voice, and at a 
more fitting time, should take up the subject, and place 
upon a permanent record the history of one of the most 
purely patriotic and historical Orders which the world has 
ever known. 

I invite your attention, gentlemen of the South Carolina 
Society, on this occasion, more particularly to the memories 
of those brave men who became of the Continental estab- 
lishment in South Carolina, and to the organization and 



14 

continuance of the Cincinnati, as a State Society, in South 
Carolina during such century. 

At the first meeting of the South Carolina Society of the 
Cincinnati, at Charleston, on the 29tli August, l|83, the fol- 
lowing officers were elected, viz : 

Major-General William Moultrie, President. 

Brigadier-General Isaac Huger, Vice-President. 

Major Thomas Pinckney, Secretary. 

Captain Charles Lining, Treasurer. 

Lieutenant James Kennedy, Assistant Treasurer. 

Lieutenant Samuel Beekman, Steward. 

John Sandford Dart, Esq, Steward. 
And on 6th October, 1783, the following were appointed 
as the Standing Committee : 

Colonel Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. 
Colonel Barnard Beekman, Captain Felix Warley. 
Lieut-Col. Wm. Washington, Lieutenant Charles Brown, 
Major Robert Forsyth, Doctor David Oliphant. 

The loss of our records forbids us from saying who assisted 
at the organization, and the original roll of members, hap- 
pil}^ preserved, does not aid in informing us. Our printed 
list of members is copied from that roll as nearly in order 
as practicable, but the roll was not signed in columns, and 
hence it is very conjectural in what order, or at what dates, 
the original roll was signed. 

The newspapers of that day contain no reference to the 
organization, nor any advertisement for a meeting. It may, 
therefore, be supposed, that the meeting was held upon 
notice to those entitled to be present. The earliest paper 
notice which I have found, is the following, in the Carolina 
Gazette of the 6th of July to the 8th of July, 1784, viz : 

" By Order of the President. 

" An extra general meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati' 
established in this State, will be held at the City Tavern, on 
Tuesday, the 27th inst., at ten o'clock in the morning, when 
the members are requested to attend punctually at said hour. 

^< 5th of July, 1784." 



15 

In the Columbia Herald, of the 4th of July, 1785, appears 
as follows : 

" Anniversary of the Cincinnati. 

" The Anniversary of the Society of the Cincinnati, es- 
tablished in this State, will be celebrated on Monday, the 
4th day of July inst., at the City Tavern. 
" Dinner on the table at three o'clock. 

" Henry Collins Flagg, 
" William Smith Stevens, 

" Stewards." 

In the Columbian Herald, and Gazette of the State of Souili 
Carolina, of the 6th of July, 1785, under the head of local 
news, notice is taken of the parade of troops, and it adds, 
" His Excellency, the Governor (attended by many gentle- 
men) reviewed the whole under arms, being drawn up from 
the State House down Broad Street. And, afterwards, gave 
an elegant entertainment at the City Tavern, to a number 
of gentlemen, among them the Consul and Vice-Consul of 
his most Christian Majesty, the officers, civil and military^ 
of the State, the members of the Cincinnati Society, and 
several strangers," &c. 

In the Evening Gazette of the 5th of July, 1786, under the 
local head, in noticing the celebration of the 4th of July, it 
is said : " The members of the Cincinnati and South Carolina 
Societies dined at the City Tavern." 

The above are all the notices by, or references to, the 
Society, which I have been able to find, up to that time. 
Whether this was in consequence of the meagre notices at 
that period, of local events ; or to the custom which, then, 
largely prevailed, of summoning members to society meet- 
ings by personal summons rather than by public advertise- 
ment ; or to the disinclination of the Society to obtrude it- 
self on public notice, in consequence of the popular clamor ; 
it is impracticable now to tell. 

In 1787, the popular clamor appears to have greatly sub- 
sided, and the Cincinnati had a public celebration, which is 



16 

noticed in the Morning Post of the 5th of July, 1787, as 
follows : " The Society of the Cincinnati assembled at the 
President's house, and from thence walked to St. Michael's 
Church, where a most excellent sermon, adapted to the great 
and eventful day, was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Purcell. 
The society then paid their respects to the Governor, at his 
house; from whence they adjourned to the City Tavern, 
and after the business was over, they dined and spent the 
remainder of the day with the utmost hilarity." 

The Cincinnati has always regarded itself as an assemblage 
of friends, and has not been accustomed to furnish a list of 
its officers, or an account of any of its transactions, for pub- 
lication. It has not withheld the names of its officers, when 
sought, as local information. Hence, possibly, the little in- 
formation to be gleaned from the newspapers. The above 
extracts are given, as furnishing all which I have been able 
to find in the newspapers, regarding its earlier life. 

On the centennial day of the organization in South Caro- 
lina, it has seemed to me, that it would interest you, to learn 
something of the institution of the Society, and the earlier 
account, so far as it can now be gathered, of our State Soci- 
ety. But there is a duty which rests upon us, and to which 
your attention is invited. It is to put in some permanent 
shape, an account of what troops of South Carolina were 
upon the Continental establishment, and to tell something 
of those who have presided over our State Society. 

I have sought in vain, to find some official record, which 
would give me the troops on the Continental establishment 
from this and the other thirteen States. There are records 
in the State Department at Washington, which would give 
much information, but they have never, to the best of my 
knowledge, been published, and from some idea of State 
policy are so jealously guarded from public examination, as 
to be practically sealed books. Desiring to obtain a list for 
the archives of this Society, of the South Carolina troops, 
application was made to the Department ; a very courteous 
reply was received, in which it was said : " I regret to state 
that the communication of such information would be con- 



17 

trary to the long established rales of the Department gov- 
erning the archives. Facts concerning the military services 
of the officers and soldiers of the Revolution can ^nly be 
made known to the legal heirs of the same. This restric- 
tion it is deemed necessary to maintain until there shall be 
fixed by Congress a limitation as to the time when claims 
relative to the Revolution can be presented." Debarred 
from authentic, official records, by this answer, the commit- 
tee which prepared the pamphlet published in 1881, en- 
deavored as far as practicable to make out a list of the regi- 
ments, &c., furnished by South Carolina. Upon this occa- 
sion, it will be of interest to give some additional informa- 
tion. 

Prior to the battle of Lexington, following the plan indi- 
cated by the Congress which assembled at Philadelphia, the 
several Colonies had called Provisional Congresses. So long- 
as the Colonies acted under the Royal form of government, 
their Legislative assemblies were cramped by the Governors, 
who as appointees of the British Crown, were able to pre- 
vent, if they could not control legislation. The Provincial 
Congresses being composed of delegates from the peoples of 
the Colonies, and without the counteracting control of the 
Royal Governors, were able to do those revolutionary acts 
which could not be done through the Legislative Assem- 
blies. Such a Provincial Congress had been called in South 
Carolina ; it assembled on 11th January, 1775, and unani- 
mously chose Col. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney,as its Presi- 
dent. Various acts were done by it in the way of remon- 
strance to the British acts of aggression, and on 17th Janu- 
ary, 1775, presented to Lieutenant-Governor Wm. Bull, who 
declined to recognize the Congress. Upon his declining to 
do so, the Congress adopted, on 17th January, 1775, the fol- 
lowing resolution : 

" Resolved, That it be recommended by this Congress to 
all the inhabitants of this Colony, that they be diligently 
attentive in learning the use of arms ; and that their officers 
be requested to train and exercise them, at least, once a fort- 
night." 

9 



18 

And the Congress adjourned until it shall be summoned 
to convene by the Charles Town General Committee. 

Things were in this condition, " when, on the 19th day of 
April, war was declared against America, by the British 
troops firing upon the inhabitants of Lexington, an account 
of which flew over the whole continent, and now all hopes 
of a reconciliation were at an end, and recourse to arms was 
the only and last resort." " In consequence of the battle of 
Lexington, the General Committee immediately summoned 
the Provincial Congress to meet on the first day of June. * * 
The reasons given for their call were : I. The British troops 
in the Province of Massachusetts did, on the 19th day of 
April last, commence civil war in America, with force of 
arms, seizing and destroying the property of the people of that 
Colony, making hostile assaults upon their persons, whereby 
many of them fell in battle, in defence of their property and 
the liberty of America ; a conduct in the British troops 
amounting, in effect, to a direct and hostile attack upon the 
whole people of this continent, threatening them with all 
the calamities of slavery. II. Because this Colony cannot 
discharge her duty in defence of American freedom, unless 
we put it into a state of security against any attack by the 
British arms," &c. 

The Provincial Congress assembled on the appointed day, 
"on our first meeting they determined upon a defensive 
war ; and the fourth day it was resolved to raise two regi- 
ments of five hundred men each. * * * xhe day after 
the officers of the first and second regiments of foot were 
ballotted for, it was resolved to raise a regiment of cavalry 
rangers of five hundred men." 

The officers elected were : 

Field Officers oj the First Regiment: Christopher Gadsden, 
Colonel ; Isaac Huger, Lieutenant-Colonel ; Owen Roberts, 
Major. 

Field Officers of the Second Regiment : William Moultrie, 
Colonel ; Isaac Motte, Lieutenant-Colonel ; Alexander Mcin- 
tosh, Major. 



19 

Captains of the First and Second Regiments : Charles Cotes- 
worth Pinckney, Barnard Elliott, Francis Marion, William 
Cattell, Peter Horry, Daniel Horry, Adam McDonald, Thos. 
Lynch, William Scott, John Barnwell, Nicholas Eveleigh, 
James McDonald, Isaac Harleston, Thomas Pinckney, 
Francis Huger, William Mason, Edmund Hyrne, Roger 
Parker Sanders, Charles Motte, Benjamin Cattell. 

First Lieutenants in the First and Second Regiments : Anthony 
Ashby, James Ladson, Richard Singleton, Thomas Elliott, 
William Oliphant, John Vanderhorst, Robert Armstrong, 
John Blake, Glen Drayton, Richard Shubrick, Richard 
Fuller, Thomas Lesesne, Benjamin Dickinson, William 
Charnock, John Mowatt, Joseph Ion, James Peronneau, 
John A- Walter, Thomas Moultrie, Alexander McQueen. 

Field Officers of the Regiment of Pvangers : William Thomson, 
Lieutenant-Coionel ; James May son. Major. 

Captains of Rangers : Samuel Wise, Eli Kershaw, Edward 
Richardson, Ezekiel Polk, Robert Goodwin, Thomas Wood- 
ward, John Caldwell, Moses Kirkland, John Purvis. 

First Lieutenants of the Regiment of Rangers : John Lewis, 
P. Imhoff, Charles Healtey, Alexander Cameron, Richard 
Winn, John Donaldson, Hugh Middleton, Lewis Dutarque, 
Francis Boykin, Samuel Watson. 

The foregoing is collated from Moultrie's and Ramsay's 
War of the Revolution in South Carolina. 

As a matter of course, as the war progressed, many addi- 
tional officers were added to these regiments, and appoint- 
ments made in the additional organizations which were 
raised. It is impracticable to give all of their names, but as 
many have been collected as possible, from various sources, 
and are given in the pamphlet reported by the Committee, 
and published by the Society in 1881. ^ 

The Regiment of Rangers was subsequently known as the 
Third Regiment. 

When these regiments were raised, there was in existence 
in Charleston an organized military corps of many years 
standing, known as the Charleston Battalion of Artillery, 
consisting of two companies, and officered as follows : Thomas 



20 

Grimball, Jr., Major ; Thomas Heyward, Jr., and Edward 
Rutledge, Captains ; Anthony Toomer, Charles Warham, 
Daniel Stevens, and Benjamin Wilkins, Lieutenants. 

The threatening appearance in 1775, also called into ex- 
istence in Charleston another military organization, the 
German Fusiliers, officered by Alexander Gillon, Michael 
Kattiesen, Boquet, and Dupont. 

These two organizations were never upon the Continental 
establishment, but their gallant services entitle them to be 
noticed on this occasion. Until the siege and capitulation 
of Charleston, in 1780, they were constantly called upon for 
active military service. At the Battle of Port Royal Ferry, 
the Artillery bore an arduous and honorable part. The 
German Fusiliers also acted most gallantly at that battle. 
Subsequently, at the siege of Savannah, the German Fusi- 
liers formed a part of the storming party led by Col. John 
Laurens against the Spring Hill redoubt, and their deter- 
mined courage was evinced by the fact that Charles Shep- 
pard, their Captain, and Joseph Kimmel, their First Lieu- 
tenant, were left dead upon the field of battle, together with 
a number of members of the Company. 

At the siege of Charleston, in 1780, both of these organi- 
zations were conspicuous, the Artillery manning the works 
at the town gate. With the capitulation, they became 
prisoners of war. 

What has just been said of the Charleston Battalion of 
Artillery and the German Fusileers is an episode, and, 
properly, has nothing to do with the purpose for which we 
are assembled. Yet I should not say this, for all the soldiers 
who contributed to achieve American Independence should 
be held in especial reverence by the members of the Cin- 
cinnati Society, and whether such soldiers were upon the 
Cbntinental establishment, or in State service, it is the grate- 
ful duty of so purely an historical, patriotic society as ours 
to commemorate their services, and seek to preserve a 
record which will transmit them to posterity. 

The Provincial Congress, having at this June session or- 
dered the raising of the above stated regiments, supplemented 



21 

their proceedings by appointing a council of safety, to which 
was entrusted the administration of affairs during the recess 
of Congress. In the proceedings of this Council of Safety 
will be found a large number of names of the officers of the 
three regiments above recorded, to whom commissions were 
issued. 

The Provincial Congress reassembled on 1st November, 
1775, and on 13th November, 1775, " Resolved, That as there 
is a great want of men to manage and fire the artillery in 
Fort Johnson and the other fortifications now erected, and 
such batteries as it may hereafter be thought necessary to 
erect, a regiment of artillery be forthwith raised and em- 
body ed, to serve either in garrisons or otherwise, by land or 
water, as the service of the colony may require, to consist of 
three companies of one hundred men each, including non- 
commissioned officers and gunners." 

On 14th November, 1775, the following were elected 
officers of the Regiment of Artillery : 

Lieutenant Colonel Commandant, Owen Roberts, Esq. 

Major, Hon. Barnard Elliott. 

Captains, Barnard Beekman, Esq. ; Charles Drayton, Esq. ; 
Sims White, Esq. 

Paymaster, Paul Townshend, Esq. 

Surgeon, John Budd, Esq. 

Additional commissions for officers in the regiment will 
also be found in the proceedings of the Council of Safety. 

On 17th November, it was " Resolved, That the Regiment 
of Artillery now to be raised and embodyed, be the fourth 
Reo^iment in the service of the colon? ; and that officers of 
equal rank in the four regiments in the colony service, shall 
take precedence according to the dates of their respective 
commissions." 

In march, 1776, the Provincial Congress resolved to raise 
two regiments of riflemen : 

Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Huger is appointed Colonel of 
the 1st Regiment. 

Major Alex. Mcintosh is appointed Lieutenant Colonel of 
the 1st Regiment. 



22 

Benjamin Huger, Esq., is appointed Major of the 1st Regi- 
ment. 

Captains: Hezekiah Maham, Benjamin Tutt^ George 
Cogdell, William Richardson, John Brown, Francis Prince^ 
David Anderson, Thomas Potts (Ramsay omits David 
Anderson and Thomas Potts, and in their places puts Rich- 
ard Richardson, Jr., William Henderson, John Bowie). 

Officers of the 2d Regiment of Riflemen ; Thomas Sumpter. 
Esq.^ Lieutenant Colonel. 

William Henderson, Esq., Major. 

Captains : James Duff, Richard Richardson, Jr,, Samuel 
Taylor, George Wage, William Brown. 

On the 26th of March, 1776, the Provincial Congress 
adopted a Constitution, by which the form of government 
became changed from a Province into an independent State^ 
choosing its own Legislative and Privy Council, President 
and other State officers. From thenceforth, the Acts as they 
appear upon the Statute books, are those of the State gov- 
ernment ; the first being " An ordinance for making disposi- 
tions of money for the support of government, and to ena- 
ble His Excellency, the President and Commander-in-Chief 
of South Carolina, for the time being, to exercise certain 
powers, in manner therein mentioned," signed by the 
Speaker of the Legislative Council, the Speaker of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, and assented to in" Privy Council on the 6th 
of April, 1776, by John Rutledge, first President of the State 
of South Carolina. 

On the 11th of April, 1776, an ordinance relative to the 
duties of Muster-Master-General was passed, " That the 
Muster-Master-General, or his deputy, shall muster each 
respective regiment, independent company and detachment 
of regular forces of this Colony, and each ship's crew in the 
service thereof, not less than once in every three months," &c. 

In the General Assembly held under such Constitution, 
on the 20th of September, 1776, it was " Resolved, That this 
House do acquiesce in the resolutions of the Continental 
Congress of the 18th of June, and the 24th of July last, 
relative to the putting of the two regiments of infantry, the 



23 

regiment of rangers, the regiment of artillery, and the two 
regiments of riflemen in the service of this State, upon the 
Continental establishment." 

Of this resolve, General Moultrie says, " by this resolve, the 
South Carolina officers came into the Continental line as 
youngest officers of their different ranks." 

It will thus be seen that South Carolina placed upon the 
Continental establishment, certainly, six regiments of troops 
of different arms, not later than the 20th of September, 
1776. That such was the fact is further evinced by an Act 
of the 28th of March, 1778, a part of the preamble to which 
is, " Whereas, a regard for our own welfare, and the inter- 
ests of America, renders it indispensably necessary that the 
six regiments of this State on the Continental establishment 
should be completed without delay," &c., and is still further 
shown by the preamble to an Act of the 29th of January, 
1779. 

In April, 1779, after the capture of Savannah by the 
British, Gen. Prevost of that army invaded South Carolina, 
and besieged Charleston. Just prior to his invasion, on 
19th February, 1779, the General Assembly passed an ordi- 
nance for raising and supporting a regiment of Light Dra- 
goons for the public service. Of this, it is said in the Statute 
at Large : " Too much obliterated to be copied ; " and it is 
not given in Grimke's Public Laws, except by its title. It is 
therefore impracticable now to say, whether such regiment 
was intended as a part of the Continental establishment. 

Of it, Ramsay, after speaking of the effort to raise the 
militia, says : " Every effort was made to strengthen the 
Continental Army. Additional bounties and greater emolu- 
ments were promised as inducements to encourage the 
recruiting service. The extent and variety of miltary ope- 
rations in the open country pointed out the advantages of 
cavalry. A regiment of dragoons was therefore ordered to 
be raised, in which the following appointments took place : 
Daniel Horry, Colonel. 
Hezekiah Maham, Major. 
John Canterier (Couterier), John Hampton, Benjamin 



24 

Screven, Richard Gough, Thomas Giles, Isaac Dubose, Cap- 
tains. 

That such an organization was in the field, appears from 
Gen. Moultrie's letters in May, 1779, and according to the 
tenor of Gen. Washington's order of 4th July, 1775, it would 
seem as if such regiment should be included among the 
troops of South Carolina upon the Continental establish- 
ment. If this is so, it was the seventh regiment contri- 
buted by South Carolina to the Continental establishment. 

At the capitulation of Charleston to the British, on 12th 
May, 1780, among the troops which w^ere surrendered, was 
a detachment of Light Dragoons, in which were three Cap- 
tains. This capitulation was followed by the over-running 
of the State by the British, and the establishment of fortified 
posts in various places. The Governor and civil authorities 
had left the State, and, to all appearances, the British 
authority was firmly re-established, and South Carolina 
relegated into a colony. But, in the midst of the gloom, 
began to appear that brilliant struggle by the people against 
overwhelming odds, for the recovery of their liberties, and 
the driving of their foes from their soil. Moultrie says : 
" The war was now carried from the lower to the upper part 
of South Carolina, and into North Carolina, and the friends 
of independence were obliged to retreat before them into 
North Carolina. Among the most conspicuous and useful 
of these was Col. Sumpter, who had formerly commanded 
the Fifth South Carolina Continental Regiment; a brave 
and active officer, and well acquainted with the interior 
parts of North and South Carolina. The exiles from South 
Carolina joined their friends in North Carolina, and made 
choice of Col. Sumpter to command them ; at the head of 
this small body of republicans, he returned into South Caro- 
lina, almost without arms or ammunition, and no stores to 
supply their wants, and when most of the inhabitants had 
given up the idea of supporting their independence ; in this 
situation did he oppose himself to the victorious British 
Army ; they sometimes began an action with not more than 
three rounds per man, and were obliged to wait to be sup- 



25 

plied with more, by the fall of their friends or enemies in 
battle." In another place, he says : " Although there was 
no Continental army in South Carolina for several months, 
it can never be said she was a conquered country, whilst 
Gens. Sumpter and Marion each kept a body of men in the 
field in support of her independence." 

Either at Beckhamville, in Chester County, by a party of 
determined Whigs, under the leadership of Captain John 
McClure, of the militia, or at Mobley's, in Fairfield County, 
under the leadership of Colonel William Bratton and Cap- 
tain John McClure, two militia officers, the first blow was 
struck for the recovery of the State. Both of these affairs 
were, about June, 1780, and from thenceforward until, on 
14th December, 1782, Charleston was evacuated by the 
British, the militia of South Carolina, under officers such as 
above named, or such as General Pickens, Sumter, and 
Marion, were so conspicuous in their services in the defence 
and recovery of the State as to have repeatedly received the 
thanks of the Continental Congress. While the war in the 
Northern States was largely conducted with Continental 
troops, that in South Carolina and Georgia, after these States 
were overrun, was largely conducted with militia, or organ- 
ized forces designated as State troops. The undaunted cour- 
age, indomitable energy and zeal, fortitude under the great- 
est of privations, and constancy under most depressing and 
untoward circumstances, of these gallant heroes of the Revo- 
lutionary War, entitle them, not only to the undying 
gratitude of their countrymen, but should, and if their 
services had been properly known, probably would, at the 
institution of the Cincinnati, have led to their being in- 
cluded among those who were entitled to membership 
therein. Those who instituted the Society knew little or 
nothing of the war in South Carolina and Georgia, and, 
naturally, confined it to that class of troops with which they 
were accustomed to associate. But, as members of the Cin- 
cinnati, an order instituted to commemorate the great event 
which led to American Independence, we may, nay, should, 
on this anniversary, commemorate the great services ren- 



26 

dered by the militia of South Carolina' — should put on 
record our appreciation of, and reverence for, the brave men 
who, from the depths of the swamps, emerged whenever an 
opportunity presented to strike for their country, and strove 
to rescue it from the tread of the British soldiery. Gentle- 
men of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, unite with me in 
doing homage to the memories of the brave militia of South 
Carolina for their services in the rescue of the State. 

In July, 1780, General Gates was sent to South Carolina, 
with Continental troops of the Maryland and Delaware lines, 
and in the disaster at Camden, on 16th August, 1780, the 
State was again deprived of a Continental army, and again 
thrown on the militia for defence and rescue. It was while 
Gates was on his march to Camden, that he was joined by 
Marion with "his ragged command, worse than Falstaff 
ever saw, and excited the ridicule of the well clad Conti- 
nentals." Of this militia Col. Otho H. Williams, said: 
" Their appearance, was, in fact, so burlesque, that it was 
with much difficulty the derision of the regular soldiery 
was restrained by the officers ; and the General himself was 
glad of an opportunity of detaching Col. Marion, at his own 
instance, toward the interior of South Carolina, with orders 
to watch the motions of the enemy, and furnish intelli- 
gence." It was this ragged militia, too ragged, when the 
British evacuated Charleston, to be allowed to form a part 
of the troops which occupied that city, because their naked- 
ness would have shocked decency, that prepared the way by 
its heroic exploits, for the successful after campaign of Gen. 
Greene, and without its services in such campaign he would, 
in all probability, have been unsuccessful. Marion, at Brit- 
ton's Neck, at Nelson's Ferry, at Fort Watson, at George- 
town, at Parker's Ferry, dealt redoubtable blows, and pre- 
pared the way for the evacuation of Camden, and for Eutaw. 
Pickens, at Cowpens, at Augusta, and by his ceaseless beat- 
ing up of various British outposts; largely contributed to 
the same result. Sumter, the first to resume on a scale of 
any magnitude, the warfare for the rescue of his State, at 
Hanging Rock, at Blackstocks, at Fishdam Ford, by his op- 



27 

erations around Orangeburg, led to the withdrawal of the 
garrison at that post, to Eutaw, and eventually, with Mari- 
on's men, to the shutting up of the British within the forti- 
fications of Charleston. Col. Wm. Harden, Major John 
Hampton, Col. Richard Hampton, Col. Wade Hampton, 
Col. Henry Hampton, Capt. Samuel Hammond, Capt. Tarl- 
ton Brown, Capt. Wm. Butler, Capt. Wm. Martin, Capt. 
John Starke, Col. Thomas Taylor, Capt. James Taylor, 
Col. John Thomas, Jr., Capt. Joshua Toomer, Col. James 
Williams, Col. Henry White, Gen. Richard Winn, able as- 
sistants and coadjutors with Marion, Pickens and Sumter, 
formed parts of that determined militia army which first 
checked the current of conquest, and contributed towards 
driving the British army into the sea. If this episode seems 
foreign to our special purpose, pardon it, I pray you. I 
cannot forget that to these men, is largely due the liberties 
of South Carolina, and I cannot but believe that I discharge 
a duty to the purposes of the Cincinnati Society, in putting 
on record the services of such men. 

In October, 1780, Gen. Greene succeeded to the command 
of the Southern Department, and availing himself of the 
spirit which had been aroused, and wisely using the services 
of those who had encouraged such spirit, began the cam- 
paign which with many vicissitudes and depressing reverses, 
yet grew brighter each day, until that memorable 14th 
December, 1782, when, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, he es- 
corted Gov. Matthewes to the State House. When " from 
windows, balconies, even house tops, the troops were greet- 
ed with cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, and cries, " God 
bless you, gentlemen, welcome ! welcome !" A campaign 
which so endeared him to the people of North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia, as to lead the Legislatures of 
those States to express the gratitude of the people in sub- 
stantial evidences. 

When Gen. Greene entered upon the command of this 
department, he found but a handful of Continental troops, 
and proceeded to organize additional forces as rapidly as 
practicable. First, he availed himself of all the militia and 



28 

partisan corps which he found in service. Then in March, 

1781, " Gen. Sumpter, with the approbation of Gen. Greene, 
raised three small regiments of regular State troops." At 
or about the same time he authorized the raising of cer- 
tainly two, and probably five, regiments of Light Horse ; 
these regiments of Light Horse were to be raised under Col. 
Peter Horry, Col. Hezekiah Maham, Col. Henry Hampton, 

Col. Wade Hampton, and Col. Middleton. In writing 

to Col. Peter Horry, on 24th September, 1781, in relation to 
the regiment of Light Horse being enlisted by him. Gen. 
Greene says of them : " As the very name of a regular sol- 
dier fills them (the Tories) with terror." Whether these 
troops were upon the Continental establishment or not, it is 
impracticable to say without official data, which I have not 
access to. The officers raising these commands appear to 
have regarded themselves as in the regular service. Writing 
of Col. Maham's Command, Gen. Greene, on 16th January, 

1782, said : " My intention with respect to that corps was, that it 
should stand upon the same footing as Lieut.-Col. Lee's 
Legion, which is called an independent corps." I do not 
know whether Gen. Greene had any authority to empower 
the raising of troops, and if he had any authority, how far 
it extended in embracing such troops as a part of the Con- 
tinental establishment. But it may fairly be presumed, that 
he acted within what he regarded as the scope of his au- 
thority. In the Constitution of 1778, it was provided that 
the Continental Congress shall have authority "to agree 
upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions 
upon each State for its quota, in proportion to the number 
of white inhabitants in such State, which requisition shall 
be binding, and thereupon the Legislature of each State 
shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, and 
clothe, arm and equip them, in a soldier-like manner, at the 
expense of the United States." In February, 1782, Gen. 
Greene, writing to Col. Peter Horry, says: "I have been 
told that you and Col. Maham have engaged your men upon 
diff'erent pay than what is given to the Continental cavalry, 
but you must at once see the inconvenience such a step must 



29 

produce to the service ; I cannot think it has any founda- 
tion, but conclude that whatever extraordinary allowance 
was made was in the country and not in the pay. You will 
please make me an exact return of your non-commissioned 
officers and men, the term of service they are engaged for, 
and the conditions of bounty and pay ; also, the number of 
your horses, clothing and accoutrements of every kind. I 
am making out a general report to Gen. Washington and 
the Minister of War, of the state and condition of the forces 
of the Southern Department; the returns are wanted imme- 
diately." If it is remembered that when General Greene took 
command of the Southern Department, the civil authority 
in South Carolina was fugitive, and no Legislature could be 
assembled upon which to make a requisition for the State's 
forces, nor was assembled, until by the services of the troops 
he had, and had called into existence, the British were locked 
up in Charleston, it may fairly be inferred, that in the orders 
placing him in command of the Southern Department, Gen- 
eral Greene was empowered to raise troops, and arm and 
equip them in a soldier-like manner, at the expense of the 
United States. While, therefore, the troops so raised under 
his authority would be designated as State troops, they would 
yet be upon the Continental establishment, as being raised, 
armed and equipped at the expense of the United States. 
General Greene in his report of the battle of Eutaw, dis- 
criminates between the militia, which were truly State troops, 
for the Constitution of 1778, provided that " every State 
shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined mil- 
itia," and what he designates as State troops, when he says? 
" and Lieutenant-Colonel Henderson, with the State troops, 
our left." And Colonel Otho WiUiams, in his account of 
the killed and wounded at that battle, discriminates by using 
as distinctions, "South Carolina Line," "South Carolina 
State Officers," " South Carolina Militia." It is not then, a vio- 
lent inference to say, that the troops raised under the au- 
thority of General Greene, were troops furnished by South 
Carolina upon the Continental establishment, and that the 
regiments under General Sumter, and the regiments under 



30 

Colonels Peter Horry, Hezekiah Mahan, Henry Hampton, 

Wade Hampton, and Middleton, should be added 

to the seven regiments spoken of in a preceding part 
of these remarks. It may be, that in these regiments may 
be found one clue to the jealous secrecy with which the 
returns, &c., have been guarded from general publication. 

In the century which has passed since the organization of 
the State Society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, there 
have been ten Presidents of such society. Of these, five 
were participants in the trials and dangers of the Revolu- 
tionary War. 

At the organization, on the 29th of August, 1783, as before 
stated, Major-General William Moultrie was elected first 
President. By continuous, annual, re-elections, he held the 
office of President, until his death, on the 29th of Septem- 
ber, 1805. He was succeeded by Major (subsequently, in the 
war of 1812, Major-General) Thomas Pinckney, who, in like 
manner, held until the 4th of July, 1826 ; when, having 
been elected President-General in place of his distinguished 
brother, Major-General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, de- 
ceased, he declined a re-election to the office of President of 
the State Society. Major Alexander Garden, the next Presi- 
dent, served from the 4th of July, 1826, until his death on 
the 24th of February, 1829. Major James Hamilton was 
elected as successor of Major-Garden, on the 4th of July, 
1829, and continued in office until his death on the 26th of 
Noveraber, 1833. On the 4th of July, 1834, Dr. William 
Read was elected President, and served until the 21st of 
April, 1845, when this venerable and aged soldier and pat- 
riot, ceased the warfare of life. At his death he was the 
last surviving Continental officer in South Carolina, and, it 
is believed, the last surviving Continental officer, but one — 
Major James Lovell — of Lee's Legion. Dr. Read died at the 
advanced age of ninety-one years, and was the last of our 
presidents who had shared in the battles of the Revolution. 

General James Hamilton was elected President, and con- 
tinued as such until the 4th of July, 1850, when, having re- 
moved from the State, he declined re-election. 



31 

Hon. J. Harleston Read, on 4th July, 1850, was elected as 
successor of General James Hamilton, and was annually 
re-elected, dying as President on 23d May, 1859. On 4th 
July, 1859, Henry A. DeSaussure, Esq., was chosen to fill 
Mr. Read's place, and he, also, died in office as President ; 
his death was on 9th December, 1865. Hon. James Simons, 
his successor, was elected President on 4th July, 1866, and 
he, too, died still invested with the office of President ; he 
died on 26th April, 1879. The last business act of his life 
was to preside over the Society at the quarterly meeting of 
19th April, 1879. On 4th July, 1879, the Society honored 
me by electing me as President. I am the tenth President, 
and you have been pleased to re-elect me annually. 

It will be seen that all the Presidents have continued in 
office from their first election until their death except two, 
who resigned for the reasons above stated. This conserva- 
tive usage of re-election has characterized the General So- 
ciety, and, so far as I know, all the State Societies. We are 
a band of social brotherhood to perpetuate the friendships 
of our ancestors, to commemorate the great event which 
their services brought about, and to keep fresh the memories 
of that event and those services so long as we and our pos- 
terity remain. With us, therefore, there should be no strife 
for office. Our officers are our senior brethren, made so by 
our own election. 

Gentlemen of the Cincinnati of South Carolina, assembled 
on this Centennial Anniversary of the organization of our 
State Society, we cannot but recall the remembrance of the 
vast event which led to the Institution. We cannot but 
feel rekindled the friendships formed by our ancestors under 
the pressure of a common danger. We enjoy the benefits 
flowing from the former ; we should cherish as a precious 
heritage the memories of the latter. Recalling both, upon 
such an occasion, instinctively we turn towards those patri- 
otic men and brave soldiers who maintained the bloody 
conflict of eight years. Unite, then, with me, in acknowl- 
edging our gratitude to their memories, and to the officers 
and soldiers of the Revolution, whether of the Continental 



32 

establishment, the State Lines, or the mihtia ; pay the rev- 
erent homage due to men who staked their hves and for- 
tunes for the achievement of poHtical hberty, and, having 
achieved it, exhibited to their countrymen that they had 
learned and appreciated " the duty of laying down in peace 
arms assumed for public defence." 



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